Defence Jobs in France

France's broader defence industry is anchored by Thales, Dassault Aviation, Naval Group, MBDA and Safran. Alongside these established primes, startups actively hiring include Infinite Orbits (in-orbit servicing, Toulouse), Delair (defence drones, Toulouse), Unseenlabs (RF signal detection from space, Rennes), Harmattan AI (autonomous drones and loitering munitions, Paris), Quarkslab and HarfangLab (cybersecurity, Paris) and Quandela (quantum computing, Massy). Software roles make up about 38% of open positions, followed by operations and hardware engineering.

French is typically required for most roles, though some international teams and cybersecurity firms operate partly in English. EU and EEA citizens can work without a visa. Non-EU nationals generally need an employer-sponsored work permit or may qualify through the French Tech Visa if their employer holds the Pass French Tech accreditation. Defence sector roles involving classified material require a Habilitation de Sécurité, which the employer typically initiates. Candidates do not generally need clearance before applying.